Friday, June 17, 2011

Humbling Experience

I pretty much love Chicago. I am debating the idea of moving here when my lease ends in October. 

The yoga community here is so awesome! They are super friendly and just simply an amazing group of people. I am so blessed to have met all the welcoming and compassionate souls here.  :-)

I went to take a Level 3 Vinyasa class at YogaView Elston this morning. The idea of a "Level 3" yoga class really intimidated me . However, as the class began, I came to the realization that I was in the right place at the right time. 

It's been a while since I have fallen in class. As my first and favorite yoga teacher always says, "It's good to fall. It means that you're growing." Well, we were practicing revolved bird of paradise and I totally nailed the previous side with ease. Well, with the right side, I totally fell. Like not just released my foot and put it down. Like totally wiped out. For some reason I couldn't release my bind, and I tried to step out of it and landed right on my ass. 

Well . . . I don't like falling. I don't think anyone does. I was pretty embarrassed because this seemed like a pretty elite yoga class. Despite that though, the man with a beautiful practice next to me just said, "Nice fall." and started smiling at me. I just looked at him and smiled and I just began to laugh. 

Needless to say, even though I was totally embarrassed by falling, I really needed to fall. Looking back on it, I really do believe that everyone needs to fall every once in a while. It teaches us not to be cocky and teaches us one of the core values of yoga: humility. It also teaches us to smile in the face of adversity. There's a quote that comes to mind: Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. Life's challenges are supposed to help you grow, so why not smile and enjoy the ride? 

If you can smile and laugh in the face of adversity, or even when you fall in an elite Chicago yoga class, I think that life will always be good. :-)

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